In vehicles, levers and pedals, for example, are input devices to be operated by drivers. When they are operated, certain amounts of reaction forces are generally received at hands and feet. There are, however, arts of positively producing the reaction forces in accordance with the operations of levers and pedals, that is, allowing the levers and pedals to serve as not only input devices but also output devices. Such devices are called haptic devices.
Such a device is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2001-105926 entitled “Operating Device for Vehicle.” This conventional vehicle operating device will be described with reference to FIG. 10.
The vehicle operating device shown in FIG. 10 has an accelerator pedal 101. The accelerator pedal 101 is connected to a stroke simulator 103 via a working shaft 102. A stroke sensor 104 is provided at the working shaft 102 so that the stroke simulator 103 produces a reaction force at the accelerator pedal 101 in accordance with the stroke of the accelerator pedal 101.
The stroke sensor 104 is connected via an ECU 105 to a throttle device 106. The ECU 105 supplies a command signal to the throttle device 106 to change the throttle opening in accordance with a pedal stroke.
In the above vehicle operating device, for causing a kickdown in a vehicle automatic transmission by rapidly deeply depressing the accelerator pedal 101 for rapid acceleration, it is possible to provide a kickdown switch 109 behind the accelerator pedal 101 as shown in the figure for providing a kickdown signal. When the accelerator pedal 101 is depressed to a predetermined position, the kickdown switch 109 is turned on, and a kickdown is effected in the automatic transmission under the on signal.
In the conventional art, while the throttle device 106 is electrically connected to the stroke sensor 104, it is not clear whether the stroke simulator 103 is electrically connected to the stroke sensor 104. Therefore in the adjustment of pedal reaction force to a predetermined value at a desired degree of throttle opening, a difference between the timing of the throttle opening and the timing of the pedal reaction force can occur, making delicate settings on the accelerator pedal operation and vehicle operability difficult.
Further, to produce a desired reaction force at the accelerator pedal 101 in a kickdown, for example, it is required to adjust the mounting position of the kickdown switch 109 to the vehicle body so that the kickdown switch 109 is turned on at a pedal stroke at which the reaction force is produced at the accelerator pedal 101. It is, however, difficult to precisely make such an adjustment of the mounting position of the kickdown switch 109 and also it is not easy to change the mounting position of the kickdown switch 109 to change a pedal stroke for effecting a kickdown.
It is thus desired to allow precise agreement of the timing of the production of a predetermined pedal reaction force with the timing of a desired degree of throttle opening, and also to allow precise and easy agreement between a kickdown and the production of an accelerator pedal reaction force (specifically, the production of a peak value), and further to allow easy change of the accelerator pedal position at which the kickdown and the production of the peak value are effected.